Merry Christmas
by Scarlet has Fantasy Issues
Summary: It's not that I hate Christmas, it's just that I don't see the point...And I can't believe what Logan agreed to do this Christmas. Why can't it be over now? Logan/OC I suck at summaries, but I hope you'll read anyway.


**A/N: I should have had this up at Christmas, but I didn't have it done by then. So, here is my late Christmas story for Maria and Logan. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Maria and Addison, the rest belong to Marvel.**

**X.X.X.X.X.X**

It was Christmas Eve and I didn't care about it at all. I didn't want to leave my room to help everyone finish decorating the mansion with pretty tinsel and garlands. I didn't care much for the mistletoe that was being strung up in almost all the doorways in the mansion despite the fact that I now had a boyfriend. I was definitely not interested in putting the finishing touches on large gingerbread houses with the littlest kids that remained at school for the holidays.

I wanted to be left alone until Logan decided to come back to the mansion and I didn't care if that meant I had to hide in my room all day long. It wasn't like I celebrated Christmas like the rest of the mansion. Christmas was a time for going out by myself to get in a few fights and try to get drunk. Everyone else seemed to think that it was about presents and partying their lives away. Except for Charles Xavier and he now had Logan on his side.

I knew I shouldn't have missed such an obvious sign that Xavier was going to get Logan to do what he was making him do, but I did. I had missed the fact that the man in the wheelchair had convinced Logan to become Santa Claus for the less fortunate children of our town. The old man didn't ask Hank – who would have made a good Santa, though he is blue – or any of the more gentle men. He asked the tough guy with the beard and the funny hairstyle. He asked my boyfriend and my boyfriend had agreed.

So, now Logan was out in the city, handing out presents to children in hospitals, poor families, and orphanages and he wasn't going to be coming back until late in the evening.

I was lying on my bed, making lazy circles of light with my finger to pass the time by, but it wasn't helping. I could hear the other kids outside of my room singing Christmas carols, wishing each other a Merry Christmas Eve, and just being happy about a holiday that's gotten too commercial for my taste. I had a pile of presents at the foot of my bed, waiting for me to put them under the Christmas tree for the little kiddies, but I didn't feel like getting up and putting myself in the middle of all the Christmas hype.

Addison didn't bother knocking on my door, choosing to simply come right on in like she owned the place. I rolled my eyes at the sight of her colorful Christmas sweater. How anyone could stand to wear something so ugly, I'll never know. She frowned at my attire and opened the curtains to let in the sunlight and the sounds of kids laughing as they played in the snow.

"You shouldn't be in here," Addison stated, hands going on her hips as she looked me over again.

"Funny. I was about to tell you the same thing," I grumbled. "This is my room, not yours. Remember, you got me this room and I haven't bothered to thank you for that."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that there is a party that needs to be prepared for and you don't look ready for it."

I studied Addison for a moment. She was a year older than me, had the silkiest white blonde hair I've ever seen, and her eyes shifted through all the blues imaginable. She was the happy one. She was the one that was so full of life and wanted to make everyone's lives a little better. And she wished that I was more like her instead of like my mother and our shared father.

"That's because I'm not going to any party," I told her, throwing my legs over the side of my bed. "I plan to spend my time skating on the basketball court which I fully intend to freeze over."

"Oh, you're coming to the party all right. That's something you are really good at. _Partying._"

"Only on New Years, but I'm skipping that party too, so don't bother inviting me." I stood up and walked over to my closet. "Besides, I gave up partying a long time ago."

"That was when Logan wasn't around anymore. You should have perked back up to your normal, outrageous self again by now. Unless, you've become so addicted to Logan's presence that you're now suffering from withdrawal…" Her eyes narrowed. "You druggy."

"First of all, I'm not addicted to anyone. Second of all, I am not a druggy suffering from withdrawal because I was never a druggy in the first place." I found my ice skates. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to freeze over a basketball court."

Addison got in my way and grabbed my arm. "How should I put this? …You aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay in the mansion and you're going to go to the Christmas Eve party in a nice outfit. You will have fun and you will put those Christmas presents under the tree for the little kids and your friends. Do you understand?"

"I understand that you have a thick head, so I'm going to repeat myself again. I am not going to any stupid Christmas Eve or Christmas party. So forget it sister."

Addison's eyes shifted from pale blue to an intense shade of navy blue. Behind them I could see the thing that we both possessed stirring. I tried pulling my arm away from her, but her grip tightened to the point that her white nails bit into my skin and drew blood.

"You're going because I say so," she declared. "So deal with it!"

The world went black for a moment as she blasted me with a wall of power that I hadn't sensed coming my way. When I came back to reality, I was bound to a chair, watching my sister, Rogue, and Kitty search through my closet for something. Warren – Addison's angel winged boyfriend – was sitting on my bed, smiling at my predicament.

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked with an almost innocent smile.

"I should have known that she would have dragged you into this," I muttered bitterly. "Let me go Warren and I'll reconsider beating you within an inch of your life."

"Babe, don't listen to her," Addison ordered, glancing over at him. "She's just a bit grouchy because she doesn't understand a thing about Christmas anymore."

"Jesus was born on this day and people all over the world celebrate it in his honor," I told her, proving that I did know the real story behind Christmas. "They used to just go to church to honor him, but now they just party their lives away and give away presents that they hope people would like to get."

"Christmas is about spending time with your family," Rogue commented, glancing over at me as she held up one of my mini dresses for Addison to look at.

"Oh, so now you want me to go hang out with Dad and the half brats?" I shot back. "That is so not going to happen."

"That's not what she means Maria," Addison said. "And that dress isn't really Christmassy," she added to Rogue.

"Yeah," Kitty agreed, putting her hands on her hips as she looked at me. "You don't have to be biological family with someone to have them be part of your family. Everyone in this mansion is your family now and even if you don't like some of the people like Scott, Jean, or whoever, you're just going to have to live with it."

"We're all family kiddo," Warren said with a smirk, putting a hand on my knee. "And pretty soon, I'm going to be your brother-in-law."

"Aw…even more reason for me to kill you if you ever hurt my sister," I growled at him with a deadly glare in his direction. "And call me 'kiddo' again and I will rip your tongue out and give it to a stray dog as a snack."

Warren frowned. "Why is it that I always get threatened every time you see me? Do you really think I'm such a bad guy?"

"I. Don't. Like. You." I told him in simple words so it would get through his overly blonde roots. "And I don't want to go to this Christmas Eve party that everyone is so excited about. It's stupid."

"You're going and you're going to wear…" Addison pulled herself out of the closet. "This."

I stared at the red mini dress she held in her hands in horror. I had stuffed that thing so far in my closet that I thought Narnia had stolen the darn thing. Obviously it hadn't because it was still there and it still had that ridiculous white fur all around the top and bottom of it. God was it nauseating to look at.

"I am **not **wearing that thing!" I exclaimed, twisting in the chair no matter how much pain it caused me. "That thing should have been burned when you bought it for me! Kill it to put it out of its misery! Nothing should be that ugly and live! Your sweater is proof!"

Addison didn't even flinch at the way I was commenting on her attire. "This is what people wear on the holiday. Besides, I'm not going to wear this to the party. No, I have the honor of wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit at the party."

She looked so proud to have been chosen to be Mrs. Claus when I would have been sick to my stomach at the very idea. Warren was smirking, so I knew that he had already seen the dress that my sister was going to wear. It was probably a short, red dress made to look like Santa's coat with thigh high boots, definitely not something little children should see.

"Good for you. Now let me go."

Addison ignored me as Rogue and Kitty started debating on what kind of shoes I should wear. "Warren, can you step outside? We have to get Maria all dressed up and I don't think we should risk an explosion just so you can see what she looks like in her underwear. That's Logan's job."

My face grew warm. "Logan and I haven't even had a serious make out session yet! He hasn't seen me without regular clothes on!"

"Well, what's taking you guys so long?" Addison asked. "Your eighteenth birthday was months ago. You are allowed to do things now, even though he's still considerably older than you…"

"Okay…I'm leaving while I still have relatively safe images of Maria and Logan in my head," Warren muttered, standing up and leaving. "Call me if you have any trouble."

"All right babe," Addison crooned with a lovesick smile on her face that made me want to vomit. "See you in a bit." Once the door closed, her gaze turned on me. "Now, let's get you dressed up for your Santa Claus."

**X.X.X.X.X.X**

I glowered at my reflection in the window of the rec room and touched the white fur that was wrapped around the low neckline and shoulders of my mini dress. It was soft, but it made me sick. I couldn't believe that Addison had forced me into such a ridiculous outfit and made a mental note, not only to burn the horrible dress, but also to destroy all of her most prized outfits as payback for putting me through this torture.

I could see her and the other girls dancing around in the middle of the room to some stupid Christmas song. Little children were happily playing games and were trying to sneak towards the presents that lay under the tree without catching the attention of the adults. All of this drew memories of the past when things were good to the front of my mind from the dark recesses of my mind.

Christmas had once been a good time. I used to love waking up so very early in the morning on Christmas to see if Santa really had left presents under the tree for me. I remembered being so delighted to find a thank you note where the cookies had once been and seeing all the toys left for me. But that had changed when my father had changed from a happy, nurturing man to someone who I still thought a monster in my father's skin.

_No, I won't think about that_, I told myself, turning my back on my reflection to look at the happy scene in front of me. _I will not bring back memories of pain and depression when everyone expects me to be happy for a holiday spent with family…I won't._

Hank offered me a glass of eggnog and I took it, sniffing it to make sure no one had been foolish enough to put something extra in it. Smelling nothing, I took a sip.

"Maria," Hank said, cocking his head as he looked at me. "I get the feeling that you aren't used to Christmas Eve parties."

"Oh, I'm used to parties. Just not _this _kind of party," I admitted, gesturing around us. "The parties I usually go to are more about getting wasted and throwing up than being happy and spending time with family." I sighed. "I'm no good with family situations."

"I'm sure that you'll warm up to the situation soon enough," Hank assured me with a smile. "You're surrounded by people who care about you and the happiness in the room is very contagious." There was a twinkle in his eye that I hadn't noticed before. "And Santa will be on his way here in no time."

"What?"

"You should join your friends and enjoy yourself," Hank told me, nudging me away from my lonely spot in the corner of the room towards the crowd of laughing, merry people. "You know what they say. Time flies when you're having a good time."

_And time drags on when you're down_, I thought with a sigh.

I tried to chat with friends like I didn't have a care in the world to pass the time away, but I've never been a good people person. I talked for about five minutes to everybody I knew and still, I couldn't muster up the Christmas spirit thanks to the depression hanging over me from the memories of Christmases past. So at eleven thirty, I gave up and found myself a comfy spot on an overstuffed love seat and listened to Addison read 'The Night before Christmas' to the little kiddies who had all gathered around her with their mugs of hot chocolate in hand.

I envied her for being able to find happiness during the holidays even though she had faced the same horrors at home as I had. She had always been able to find some kind of silver lining no matter how bad the situation got and I wished I could have been like that. I wanted to be happy during the holidays like every other person. I wanted to feel comfortable enough during the holidays that maybe one day _I _could be the one who was reading Christmas stories to the little kids. But I'd have to wait.

My eyelids were getting heavy when the door on the opposite side of the room opened and Charles came in. Logan followed soon after with a Santa hat sitting askew on his head and a big bag of presents slung over his shoulder. The only thing that made everyone very aware that he was still Logan under that hat was the fact that he had an unlit cigar in between his lips.

"Merry Christmas!" he declared and the little kids, done with their story time, got up and ran over to him, eager for the goodies in his bag.

My heart fluttered at the sight of him, but I refused to get up from my spot on the love seat. I was way too comfy to move and I didn't want to seem like an overly eager girlfriend. Besides with all those kids around him, I wasn't going to have a chance to get close to him until all the presents were delivered and the Professor sent the kids off to bed.

I sat on the love seat and watched him hand out presents wrapped in brightly colored paper and ribbons to the little boys and girls clustered around him. Girls got dolls and other toys that little girls love. Boys got sports toys and games that boys enjoy no matter how old they are. The adults were full of praise and happiness when the children showed off the presents they had received and some even played with the kids for a little while.

"I believe it is time for the little ones to go to bed," Charles said with a happy smile in the direction of the little boys and girls. In answer to their protests he said, "Santa is coming tonight and if you stay up for much longer, he may not stop at the mansion."

That got the little kids running for the halls and up the stairs. Some teenagers called it a night and were heading off to bed. I yawned and stretched on the couch, ready for some sleep myself, but Logan was walking towards me, so I pushed the thought of sleep aside. Boyfriend first, then some sleep.

"Hey princess," he greeted, plopping down to sit by me. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"And where else would I be when I have an annoying sister around?" I asked, gesturing at my sister who was dancing with Warren. "This was all forced upon me and I was powerless to stop it."  
Logan smirked and placed the Santa hat on my head. "You powerless?"

"When it comes to my sister and holidays, there's nothing that can stop her. Not even me."

"I believe it."

"So, how did it go being Santa all day?" I asked, ready to get past the powerless subject. "Did any of the children actually sit on your lap?"

"Of course they did. Only a few kids thought I was too scary to be Santa, but I still gave them presents anyway." He threw a casual arm over the back of the loveseat so that his finger tips grazed the bare skin of my right shoulder. "I make a great Santa, darlin'."

"I can say truthfully that you make a better looking Santa than some fat guy in a fake beard," I said with a smile. "Plus, you didn't even have to wear that ugly red suit, so you didn't burn up and end up smelly. I say that's a load better than a normal Santa."

"Yeah, a lot of mothers thought the same thing when they sat on my lap."

My eyes narrowed. "You had other women sitting on your lap? Not just little kids, but women?"

"Yes." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Why? Are you jealous?"  
I flicked his hand away from my shoulder. "No. I'm not jealous. It's only Christmas and it's not like they have incredibly good looking, manly boyfriends or husbands to sit on the laps of. No…"

Logan chuckled. "I'm glad to know you're not jealous."

I stuck my tongue out at him rather childishly and looked away. Remy was walking around the room, holding a clump of mistletoe in his hand as if he was looking for the right person to plant a kiss on. Being Remy, he wasn't picky and was kissing girls left and right. I snickered.

_He's such a ladies' man_, I thought with a smirk before Logan made me look at him again by squirming on the loveseat.

He was digging in his jeans pocket for something and I almost laughed at the sight of his nervous face. I didn't because he'd probably take it the wrong way.

"What are you doing?" I asked, suppressing the urge to smile.

"Lookin' for your present," Logan muttered, pulling his keys out of his pocket and then a wad of cash. "Wrong pocket."

I groaned. "Logan, I told you I didn't want anything for Christmas!"

"I know you did darlin'," Logan said, locating my unwanted present in the left pocket of his jacket. "I know you don't like the whole idea of gift givin' on Christmas, but its tradition. A guy has to get something for his girlfriend on holidays, even made up ones."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll let you give me _one_ present, but no more. I hate having people spend money on me and you know it."

Logan nodded and held out the small white box. "Here you go."

I took the box and pulled the little gold ribbon off of it. I could tell by looking at it that whatever was in the box was some kind of jewelry. It could be a locket or earrings or a ring and I was guessing on the earrings because I'd recently gotten my ears pierced. I ignored Logan's hand on my shoulder again and opened the little white velvet box and stared at what was nestled inside for a moment.

"A ring?" I whispered, plucking it out. "Don't tell me you're proposing Logan…"

"I'm not," Logan swore, taking the ring from me. "This is a promise ring. I got it because I want you to know that I'm always goin' to be here for you and I will always love you." He smiled his crooked smile. "And one day, I'll get you an engagement ring, but only when I think we're ready to get married."

I stared at the beautiful silver ring. He knew by now that I didn't like gold or fancy designs on my rings, but this had a simple Gaelic design on it and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever owned. I watched as Logan took my hand and slipped the ring on my ring finger. I blushed a little when he brushed his lips over the back of the same hand.

I could hear Addison whispering from across the room and smirked.

"Did he just give her a ring?" she was asking Warren. "Are they engaged now?"

"Shh…" Warren whispered, guiding my confused sister away. "You can ask them in the morning."

"Do you like it?" Logan asked, bringing me back into our own little world.

"I love it," I told him with a bright smile. "Hey Remy, can you lend a hand over here?"

Remy appeared instantly behind the love seat and held his clump of mistletoe over my head and Logan's. "Remy is sure you know what to do now," he said with a smile.

I gave Logan a reassuring smile and kissed him. "Merry Christmas Logan."

**X.X.X.X.X.X**

**A/N: And there it is, my sappy Christmas love story. I hope you like it because it took me awhile to find the right way to get this story down. And I hope you'll review because this story took me forever to do. Thanks! - Scarlet**


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